A few comments in another topic about cutting on the left or right of the blade got me thinking about this. Below is a photo of Norm ripping a piece of lumber, standing as I assume most right-handers would stand.

As a leftie, my body positioning is more like this:

Standing to the right of the blade with my left hand guiding the work feels very natural to me, and seems inherently safer than standing more in line with a possible kickback like Norm is doing in the first photo. If I was a rightie, I feel like I’d be tempted to use a right-tilt saw, and keep my fence to the left of the blade.

I’m just interested in hearing other’s thoughts on this.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

31 replies so far

the thing with right tilt tablesaw, is that the table saw is still “left tilt constructed” and the majority of the table is on the right of the blade. so if you have the fence on the left side of the blade – you are limited with your width of cut.

Yeah, absolutely, Sharon. I guess my point is that if I were designing a saw for a right-handed world, I would desing it in the mirror image of the way most saws are made today. It’s kind of the same thing with a standard circular saw…. they seem (at least to me) to be better suited to us lefties.

I tried both ways and it works fine for me, but I am both left and right hand.Driving nails, playing ball or hockey I use both left and right hand, the only thing is circular saw it does not work well.

I am right handed. I am not sure which is safer but I do both when cutting with the fence to the right of the blade. I do not like to reach across the blade so I stand to the right of the fence (picture 2) when ever I can make the cut without compromising accuracy. I believe it to be the safest position for cutting. I have been hit with kickback when standing to the left of the blade with the fence on the right.

When cutting with the fence to the left of the blade I stand to the left of the fence.

-- Terry Roswell, L.A. (Lower Alabama) "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans."

Charlie, it does look like your body position is a better approach but most righties would have a difficult time with a push stick in their left hand. I stand like Norm is pictured. I have had a sheet of plywood come back on me when I was cutting a 45 degree bevel in it and this taught me a healthy respect for staying out of the path the wood could take.

By the way is that a new saw that you are using? I don’t seem to remember seeing this one in any of your posts.

-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine

I’m a righty too. I stand more like #2. I keep well out of the way of any possible kick back. When I was an apprentice, I was taught to turn on large switches left handed :-)) Save your right if it’s defective!!

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

Both of these threads got me to thinking, and I realized that my on/off switch location makes me reach my body directly in the “kickback” path of the blade to turn the saw off….meaning I stand to the left of the blade, but my switch is located on the right side of the blade. If I had an immediate need to shut the saw off, I’d be in trouble.

Thanks for posting this – I will be moving the location of my switch immediately when I get home today!

I’m the same as Gary, I stand to the right of the blade and fence using a left tilt saw. On my General TS I have to relocate the switch so its on the right side. It gets a bit tiring to lift up my left foot and hit the off switch. when its on the left side, (and I am not getting in front on that spinning blade until it comes to a complete stop). ; )